PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED STATES AND UNITED KINGDOM

2 May 1996

Press Briefing

19960502 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

The United States Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Timothy Wirth, and the Secretary of State for the Environment of the United Kingdom, John Gummer, held a joint press conference and signing ceremony at Headquarters yesterday afternoon on the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme, which is aimed at enlightening young people about the environment.

Mr. Wirth said that GLOBE had originally been a "twinkle in the eye" of then United States Senator Albert Gore, who, before he became Vice-President, had said the world would be a lot better off if first graders could vote on issues concerning the environment. Mr. Wirth went on to say that to date, there were approximately 108 countries and organizations that had expressed interest in GLOBE. Some 35 countries had already signed up, with the United Kingdom being the most recent addition. There were 105,000 students and some 1,500 schools on any given day around the world involved in GLOBE. He noted with appreciation the cooperation he always received from the United Kingdom on issues of the environment. On behalf of the Vice-President of the United States, Mr. Wirth thanked Mr. Gummer.

Mr. Gummer said the GLOBE programme was about instilling young people with the "habit" of being concerned about the environment. The GLOBE programme made it possible to build on that habit and share it with others. It was all about making people think differently. Most adults thought about passing laws and making deals and, although he did not underestimate their importance, in a sense those deals were all too late. Forty years ago was the time to make sure all the 40-year olds were being brought up in circumstances in which they did not need to make a deal, because they actually thought a particular way about the environment. Instead, what happened now was that two nations close to each other, like Canada and the United States, could not even arrange how to deal with salmon.

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